Critical Illness Insurance: What Is It And Who Needs It?

With the changing lifestyle, people are becoming more vulnerable to diseases that adversely affect their lungs, heart, kidneys, and other vital organs of the body. To treat critical disorders at a private hospital requires a good sum of money as it involves new advancements in technology. Therefore, to ensure that you or your loved ones get a good treatment for their critical diseases treatments, you must get a critical illness insurance policy. 

This policy covers all sorts of medical expenses like pre and post-hospitalization, surgeries, daycare procedures, domiciliary expenses, doctor’s consultations, room rents, ambulance charges, and a lot more at an affordable price. A cashless treatment can be received at one of the network hospitals of the insurer where the insurer clears all your dues directly contacting the hospital without involving you, which makes the whole process quick and smooth. 

What Is A Critical Illness Insurance Policy? 

A critical illness insurance policy covers the policyholder against critical and life-threatening disorders like heart diseases, cancer, etc. The sum assured under this policy is high and enough to cover the costs of medical treatments for critical diseases.  Following are some of the standard features of a critical illness insurance policy: 

• To cover the expenses of the treatment, the policy provides a lump sum of the coverage amount. 
• A specific period is specified by the insurer as the waiting period, after which the coverage and benefits can be availed. 
• It covers around 36 critical disorders including tumors, cancers, organ damages, etc. 
• The policy has an easy and quick claim settlement process to ensure a quality experience for its policyholder. 
• A part of the sum assured can be used to replace your income, lost due to the treatment of the critical disease. 

Who Needs A Critical Illness Insurance Policy?

Anyone or everyone can buy a critical illness insurance policy, as contracting a critical illness disorder is an uncertain phenomenon. Contraction of a critical illness results in a person’s loss of income due to the inability to work in such conditions, which can affect the individual and his/her family financially. While purchasing a health insurance policy you must consider several factors like age, history of medical disorders, financial budget, etc, and then come to a conclusion to buy a certain policy. Let us look at the list of some people who can benefit more from a critical illness insurance policy: 

1. Primary Breadwinners of A Family

As the financial head of the family is the one who ensures the stability of the budget in the household. Therefore, for a critical illness insurance policy to protect the individual against a critical disorder and to shield the family from a financial loss at the time of treatment, you must invest in a suitable critical illness insurance policy.

2. Individuals Over The Age of 40 Years

As we know that after the age of 45 years, an individual becomes more vulnerable to contract a critical disorder, and hence, a cover to ensure them quality treatment at the time of an emergency must be purchased. Also, people with a history of critical diseases are at a risk, as some families have a hierarchy of passing down a critical disease like high blood pressure, diabetes, etc to the members. 

3. People With High-Pressure Jobs

Employees who work in a stressful environment must own a critical illness insurance policy, as it can protect you from critical diseases like hypertension, heart attacks, etc. 

Conclusion 

You must compare different companies and various plans before buying a plan for yourself. You must also go through the policy-related documents carefully to check if the critical disorder you look forward to being treated from has been included or not. You can choose a plan that has enough sum assured, based on your financial budget. You must check and re-check the age, sub-limits, and waiting period in your policy as they play a crucial role while making claims. 

Also Read:  Common Myths And Facts About Critical Illness Health Insurance Plans In India

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Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.